Their story starts in the streets of St. Louis.

“Years and years and years ago,” after crafting his own pads out of foam and cardboard before decorating them with painted replicas of the St. Louis Blues logo, nine-year-old David Barczewski took to the city alleys to play street hockey. He competed with other local students and friends, sometimes even playing between the pipes. An avid Blues fan, he loved both watching and playing the sport.

But as much as David enjoyed street hockey, he always wanted to get on the ice.

“He has all these stories about these high school coaches wanting him to play but, unfortunately, his mom just didn’t have the money,” Jake Barczewski, David’s son, told The Michigan Daily.

David never got the chance to participate in organized hockey. He played in the streets and followed the Blues, but it wasn’t the same. Never being able to get on the ice and play competitive hockey stuck with him, even years and years and years later.

“So, his one thing was like, ‘I want to give my kid the chance, if he wants to play hockey and loves it as much as I did,’ ” Jake said. “Then he’s gonna make sure that he gives his kid the chance.

“And I was fortunate to be that kid.”

***

Like his dad, Jake loved hockey from the very beginning. He learned how to skate around the same time he learned how to walk. Growing up, even when he wasn’t at the rink, Jake was never far from the game.

“He loved the cold, he loved to be in the cold,” Mary, Jake’s mom, told The Daily. “He would try to put himself in the refrigerator. It’s ridiculous.”

“We had to be careful, had to keep an eye on him,” David added with a laugh.

When he wasn’t trying to get in the refrigerator, Jake spent as much time as possible on the ice. After all, hockey combined his favorite activity with his favorite temperature. Who could pass that up?

The now-graduate goaltender for the Michigan hockey team always gravitated toward the net, too. In the early days of rotating goalies, when everyone got a chance to try out the position, Jake offered to take his teammates’ turns if they didn’t want to put on the pads. At home, he pretended the living room fireplace was a goal and protected it from his dad’s shinny ball shots.

Jake’s older sister was a soccer goalie, so part of the position’s initial appeal stemmed from seeing her in net and wanting to do the same. As Jake grew up and continued putting on those pads, though, it became more than just following in his sister’s footsteps.

“It’s the impact you have on a game,” Jake said. “It’s just individual, a little bit. Obviously it takes a team to win a game but sometimes whenever goals go in, it’s you. You make a mistake, goal goes in, that’s on you. It’s also vice versa — you make a big save, keep your team in it, and I think that’s the adrenaline rush that us goalies love.”

There’s both individual and team components to every position, of course, but especially for goalies. Throughout his hockey career, Jake has balanced the solo element of goaltending — a big reason why he kept going back to the net — with being part of a team.

He knows when to serve as comic relief, a tendency that perhaps can be traced back to his days of getting in the refrigerator, but he’s also disciplined and serious about his craft. When he steps in net, everything else fades away.

“I’m a pretty light guy in the locker room,” Jake said. “I’ll crack some jokes here and there and keep it pretty light with the guys. But on game day, it’s all business. A little bit different, guys will be like, ‘Man, this isn’t the same guy I’ve been with all week.’ ”

And whether he’s making jokes or making saves, he’s doing it for his teammates.

***

At the start of his first season with the Janesville Jets in 2016, Jake wasn’t getting much playing time. He came into the picture late, initially expecting to join a different NAHL team, and the Jets already had a starting goalie.

“I said, ‘Jake, you still haven’t had a shot to get in,’ ” David said. “… He said, ‘Dad, shut up. I’m very happy to be here. And I will get my chance and when I get my chance, I’m gonna do everything I can to play well, get in there and get an opportunity.’ ”

A little bit later in the season, that opportunity came. The Jets’ starter went down with an injury, and Jake stepped in. Not only did he hold down the fort, but he anchored the team through a deep postseason run. He had waited his turn, working hard and supporting those ahead of him, before taking full advantage of the chance when it came his way.

That same mindset carried over when he joined the Tri-City Storm. Slotting in behind the 2018 USHL Goaltender of the Year, Jake took on another backup role during his rookie year. Coming off an impressive campaign with the Jets, he could’ve become discouraged. He could’ve looked elsewhere.

But according to Tri-City head coach Anthony Noreen, he “never veered once.” He brought a smile to the rink every day, energizing and uplifting his teammates while simultaneously focusing on growing his own game.

“He is just the ultimate teammate,” Noreen said. “He is the guy you want somewhere, whatever seat he’s in, you want him somewhere on your team. That was apparent to me right from the beginning.”

For Jake, being the “ultimate teammate” includes making people laugh, and he was always good at it. Sometimes, when things got a little tense during video meetings, Noreen would call on Jake specifically and ask him a question — not because he’d always give the right answer, but because Noreen knew that whatever he’d say would crack up his teammates.

And just like his mentality about playing time, his penchant for lightening the mood and joking around transcended any single locker room.

After two years with the Storm, Jake spent four years at Canisius before transferring to Michigan this past offseason. He had nothing but positive things to say about his time with the Golden Griffins, and his former coach had nothing but positive things to say about him — especially about his jovial demeanor.

“He has that ability when he walks into a locker room to make people feel comfortable, to make people feel welcomed,” Canisius head coach Trevor Large told The Daily. “He’s a special character.”

***

Search up “Jake Barczewski” on Google and alongside the many hockey-related pages, you’ll find a SoundCloud profile.

Jake always loved music, so when chatter about making a mashup spread around Tri-City during playoffs time, he decided to put something together and upload it on SoundCloud. Today, it has almost 250,000 plays.

Uncovering a passion for remixing songs and playing in front of people, Jake asked for his first DJ controller for Christmas five years ago. Since that initial Tri-City mix, he’s uploaded a few more mashups to his SoundCloud and started DJing parties at both Canisius and Michigan.

Somewhere along the way, the now-ubiquitous “DJ Barzo” nickname was born.

“There’s no way a teammate would give him that nickname,” Large said. “He gave that to himself, 100%, which is probably the best part. Like people just don’t do that. He’s extremely outgoing, he’s fully capable of making fun of himself.”

Jake likes to keep DJing and hockey as separate as possible, the hobby allowing him a bit of an escape from the sport. There’s certainly some overlap in his roles as DJ and goalie, though, as distinct as they may seem. Both have strong individual components, but at the end of the day, he does both of them for the benefit of others.

As a DJ, he’s making music for those around him. He’s an “entertainer,” as Mary described. As a goalie, on the ice or on the bench, he’s supporting and playing for his teammates. And when the time comes to stiffen against an opponent or host a party, he’s always ready to put on a show.

“Yes, he likes music and putting that together, but he does it for his teammates,” Large said. “He’s a guy (that) if we win a game and he wasn’t in net, he’s as excited — if not more — for the other goalie who got the win.”

***

This weekend, Jake’s story is returning to St. Louis.

He won’t be playing in the streets like his dad, but he’ll be participating in something else that’s just as special. The Wolverines are heading to his home city for their NCAA Tournament regional, set to face off against North Dakota on Friday.

“He’s got some unfinished business there,” Large said. “And I know not just me, there’s a lot of Griffs and a lot of Canisius people that will cheer on that other blue and gold team, so to speak, when they get to a tournament this year.”

Last season, Jake led the Griffins to their second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, but they were knocked out by Minnesota in the first round. He got his first taste of revenge against the Golden Gophers two weeks ago. Now he’s looking to finish the job this weekend.

And he’ll continue doing it through being the best teammate he can possibly be. Until he locks in on gameday, he’ll crack jokes, he’ll lighten the mood, maybe he’ll even make a new mashup.

“I think every athlete to some degree says, ‘Yeah, it’s about the team and I want to put the team first,’ ” Noreen said. “When he says that, that’s exactly what he means. Every single thing that Jake Barczewski does is for his teammates.

“When you have a guy like that on your team, you’re just always going to have a chance. Especially when he’s your goaltender, the backbone of your team.”

David never got the opportunity to play competitive hockey, but he made sure that his son did. Jake got that chance to play, and he made everything of the opportunity.

Now, he’s hoping to give Michigan that chance to win come Friday night, back home where his dad’s dream and his journey began.

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